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September 15, 2011

Early Risers More Likely To Be Healthy, Happy

by editor

People who get up and out of bed bright and early in the morning are less likely to be overweight or depressed, according to a new study from researchers at Roehampton University in the UK.

According to Telegraph Science Correspondent Nick Collins, investigators at the London-based university surveyed 1,068 adults about their sleeping habits, their diets, their physical wellbeing, and their levels of happiness and anxiety, through an online questionnaire.

Approximately 13% of the study participants woke up before 7 a.m. on weekdays and at 8 a.m. on weekends, while 6% woke up slightly before 9 a.m. on weekdays and reported sleeping in an average of an hour-later on Saturday and Sunday, Fiona Macrae of the Daily Mail said on Thursday.

The remaining 81% fell somewhere in between, she added.

The so-called "morning people" were likely to report feelings of happiness and low anxiety levels, the Daily Mail said. Early risers were also more likely to eat breakfast, which Macrae says has been previously been linked to "slimness."

Speaking during a British Psychological Society (BPS) conference, Dr Joerg Huber of Roehampton University said, "morning people tend to be healthier and happier as well as having lower body mass indices," which could be the result of getting chores completed early and waking up children early enough to help avoid the hectic conditions often associated with morning preparations.

"These effects are small--and in some occupations and situations there are clearly advantages to being an evening person--but they are highly statistically significant," Huber added, according to Macrae. "If you are an evening type, you are not necessarily a miserable person but there is some difference."

Furthermore, Collins reports that the survey revealed that those who watch more television are also more likely to eat breakfast. The reason, Huber suggests, could be that they aren't as hungry when they wake up because of the time spent snacking while watching TV programming.